BHUBANESWAR : The suspension of all postal services to the US by India Post has fuelled unease among families, students and exporters in Odisha as they will now be deprived of an affordable option to send parcels and documents.
The decision to suspend the booking of all categories of mail, including letters, documents and gift items valued up to $100 was taken in the absence of defined regulatory mechanisms by the US government, which had recently scrapped the duty-free imports of packages valued up to $800.
For many families in the state, particularly those with children studying or working abroad, India Post has been the most economical way to send packages. Documents, medicines, traditional food items and festival gifts were routinely dispatched to cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Dallas, where hundreds of Odias study and work.
Sudhakar Dash, a resident of Kalinga Vihar here said he used to send small parcels of Ayurvedic medicines to his son, who is pursuing higher studies in the US. “Private couriers are too expensive. I hope the temporary suspension will be lifted soon,” he said.
The concern is particularly acute ahead of the festive season, when parcels of gifts and dry food packets usually see a surge. Legal and personal documents also make up a large portion of the consignments sent overseas. The halt is a setback for the state’s small exporters, who sell handloom and handicraft items through e-commerce platforms and rely on India Post to ship small-value orders to the US.
Co-founder of Sabat Exports Pvt Ltd Anita Sabat said they will have to completely shift to DHL or UPS as the postal channel has been suspended. “The cost will be very high, making the products less competitive. It will have a big impact on small exporters like us,” she added.
According to officials, India Post handled over 7,000 international consignments, including 4,000 merchandise, in Odisha in 2024, with the US, UK and UAE forming the bulk. The US, which is among the most important destinations for Odisha’s small exporters, accounted for around 40 per cent of the total shipments through post.
Postages worth around Rs 1.5 crore were sold for international consignments last year.
